Cape May to Mayo
Micheál O’Briain’s long-term efforts on an underwatched Irish island spectacularly produced a national first.
DESPITE increased birder presence in recent autumns, Achill Island in Co Mayo has received limited coverage. As
I’m often the only observer there I focus my efforts at the western end, particularly around Corrymore House, which is the first significant patch of cover that birds are likely to encounter if arriving from the west. This has been rewarded by my discovery there of Red-eyed Vireo in 2014 and Baltimore Oriole in 2019. However, autumn 2023 was not showing great promise. Despite the unprecedented arrival of American landbirds in both Britain and Ireland and further finds on the back of
Storm Agnes, the most unusual migrant I had seen was a Goldcrest. I felt my luck had run dry but I decided to persist.
The weather on the morning of 29 September was good, with little rain and nice spells of sunshine. There was a moderate south-west wind from which the garden at Corrymore is relatively sheltered by nearby hills. Arriving
at 9 am I quickly detected from a distance a small, bright yellow-and-greenish passerine high up in the Fuchsia bushes in the front garden. It reminded me of a European Serin but it was clearly a warbler. With its wings drooped I could see its yellowish rump and the dark streaking along its flanks. I immediately knew I was on to an American wood warbler, but the question was which one?
As I carefully approached the location where I had first seen the warbler, it popped out from a nearby gorse bush and provided brief but excellent views. I was struck by its small, compact size, the pale wing panel lacking prominent wing-bars and the fine, dark and slightly decurved bill. When it took flight, it revealed very conspicuous white patches on its outer tail feathers. The bird also gave a distinct high-pitched Song Thrush-like tsip call.
I checked available identification material on my phone and came to the conclusion that I was looking at a Cape May Warbler. This species had never been recorded in Ireland so before making the information public I sent some photos to a few friends, all of whom confirmed that I was correct. The orange tinge to the yellow on the face suggested that it was an immature male.
I was absolutely thrilled. I expect that it’s every birder’s dream to discover a new species for their country and adding
Cape May Warbler to the Irish list was a very special experience. I wanted other birders to have a chance to see this beautiful bird as soon as possible, so spread the word online and, despite Achill’s remote location, about 30 birders from across Ireland got to see it that afternoon.
The warbler was initially chased by local European Robins but it quickly established a foraging area which it frequently defended against both robins and tits. It actively fed on insects, at times engaging in short sallies up into the air, reminiscent of a flycatcher. It could also be seen at times probing flowers of both Fuchsia and Escallonia for nectar.
During the course of the bird’s stay some 150 birders visited Achill, including many from Britain. I had notified the landowner’s family when I first saw the warbler and I am grateful to him and locals for tolerating this influx of wellbehaved, happy birders. ■